Simulations of neutron emission in the irradiation of deuterated polyethylene by ultrahigh-intensity laser pulses

The neutron yield from deuterated polyethylene targets irradiated by ultrahigh-intensity laser pulses was calculated in a wide range of pulse energies. The resultant data are in better agreement with available experimental data than the data of the corresponding simulations performed by other authors earlier. The neutron pulse duration was shown to exceed the laser pulse duration by more than an order of magnitude. We also showed that the neutron yield accompanying the irradiation of a laminated target of deuterated polyethylene is, thanks to redistribution of deuteron fluxes in its volume, substantially higher in comparison with the irradiation of a continuous target (effects of laser radiation on matter)